SAN JOSE, CA – The San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) are taking the next step innovating sports and fan experiences as the first professional National Hockey League (NHL) team with its own Oculus Gear VR application, delivering exciting VR/360° videos and photos to fans everywhere. With the help of Zeality Inc., a technology company that leverages VR/360°, AR, and cognitive computing technologies to deliver new fan engagement solutions, the Sharks continue to build new ways to drive fan engagement.

“The Sharks are pleased to be innovators in the world of sport by bringing virtual and augmented reality to our fans via the Sharks app,” said Doug Bentz, Vice President of Marketing and Digital for the San Jose Sharks. “We are constantly looking at ways to bring new and dynamic content to our fans through our digital platforms. Working with Zeality and Oculus, we have developed a cutting-edge way to bring our fans closer to our team and our brand. From Zeality’s publishing and management system, we can easily deploy our interactive and immersive experiences to both our mobile applications and now our Oculus App.“

With one of the largest immersive media libraries of any professional sports team, the Sharks recognize AR/VR/360° content and media as a new category of interactive experiences. Earlier this year, the Shark iOS and Android applications were updated with the Zeality mobile SDK which allowed fans to experience VR / 360° content from within the Sharks app. The release of the Sharks Oculus Gear VR application further reinforces the team’s commitment to enhancing fan engagement, leveraging new consumer devices like Facebook’s Oculus and Samsung’s Gear VR, and delivering cutting-edge technology and content experiences to the next generation of Sharks fans.

“We continue to be inspired by how the Sharks are embracing and enabling new content formats, experiences, and technology,” said Dipak M. Patel, Co-Founder, and CEO of Zeality Inc. “This mindset allows the community, fans, and partners to deepen their connection with the San Jose Sharks. We’re excited to have the Zeality Interactive Immersive Media Engine (IME) be the backbone of this new category of experiences.”

Together, the two organizations have created an extraordinary Oculus application for fans around the world to instantly watch and engage with immersive media content through their Samsung Gear VR.

To get the full VR/360° video and photo experience with the San Jose Sharks, download their new Oculus application for your Samsung Gear VR today.

About the San Jose Sharks

The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League (NHL). As members of the NHL’s Pacific Division, the team plays its home games at SAP Center at San Jose. The Sharks were founded as an expansion team in 1991 and made their NHL debut in the 1991-92 season. To date, the Sharks have won six Pacific Division titles and advanced to the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 19 of their first 25 seasons, including 12 of the last 13 seasons. The Sharks have made four Conference Final appearances in the last 13 seasons and advanced to the Stanley Cup Final in 2016.